August 2011 posts

08/31/2011

Yesterday Brad and I celebrated 8 years of marriage. The celebration was low-key, a yummy grilled dinner outside on the patio with the kids and then followed by champagne on the deck after the kids were in bed. It seems, really, not unlike many of our everyday normal evenings around here (except, of course, the champagne!). But still it was different. It was different because Brad met us at the playground on his bike with flowers attached to his backpack. It was different because Violet kept asking us questions about our wedding. It was different because we all toasted to 8 years and Violet was happy to be a part of it (maybe Henry was too, but I'm sure he didn't think any of it was different...)

We may not go out for romantic dinners, but we do make room for little gestures here and there on a daily basis which is just as important, I think...

Squeezed into a busy day of errands and a veterinary visit yesterday I managed to put the finishing touches on a little homemade anniversary gift. Every year I have given Brad something that encompasses the traditional wedding gift for that year. This year I was going to skip it seeing that he already got a pretty awesome sign at the barn sale, but alas, I couldn't let it go. The traditional gift for year eight is bronze or pottery, hmmm...

I ended up scultping a little heart out of air dry clay and then painted it with bronze metalic paint.

I admit, it is a bit elementary, but, at the same time it's simple and thoughtful and meaningful (to me anyway...) I won't post any cheesy thoughts...maybe the heart is enough :) But, simply put, it's been a wonderful eight years with my best friend by my side!

I love these words by A.A.Milne. They were read at a good friend's wedding recently and they truly touched my heart for the newlyweds, for us, and for many other people out there who have found their soul mates.

From Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne

A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.

08/28/2011

Before, during, and after the hurricane came and the power went out...

Before...finished up some fun toy beach balls...

During...played outside before it got too bad, and then some crafts inside...

After...a bit of sewing and then some soccer...

(I just had to put this picture up, because anyone who has ever wanted to take a picture for a particular reason of their kid knows that sometimes this is what you get! I have no idea why, but this is what Violet thought I was going for...HA!)

So, we weathered the storm, Hooray!! Thank goodness it was not nearly as bad as it could have been, here. We are also so thankful that our basement did not flood and that we did not have any major tree damage and that our power was only out for a mere 12 hours, which is amazing!

For the most part we had fun and enjoyed each others company, enjoyed socializing with the neighbors and enjoyed the quiet of a power free house...but, as it usually does, toward the end we were getting a bit tired of it all and were ready to get back to normal which is precisely when the power turned back on!

So, as the power came back the kids took a nap and I started to work on a quick little reversible pinafore for Violet. This is a pattern I have had for about two years now and I have yet to use. I don't make many clothes for Violet actually. It is not to say I don't like to, I love seeing her in mama made stuff...it's just that I don't need to. We have been so lucky with hand-me-downs from her older cousin that she really is rarely lacking in clothes so sometimes it just seems a bit redundant to make her clothes unless something really inspires me. Some new fabric did just that. I have been seeing this new fabric line Children at Play popping up here and there on different blogs and Flickr groups for several weeks now. I already love Sarah Jane's prints and have several of them around the house and now she has fabric! Last week, I finally decided to order some and it arrived just before the storm did, hooray! I love that the line is called Children at play, and as cute as the fabric is, I still wanted to make sure it was something that could really be played in. This pinafore is simple and classic and...good for all seasons because in the fall and winter it will be perfect with jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Clearly, Violet found it comfy enough!

08/26/2011

This is one of those weeks that seems to have gone by in a blur. I can't really even believe that it is Friday (the end of Friday at that) already! Between having surprise mother nature events and getting prepared for a well heard about mother nature event we have been busy. It has been one of those weeks where I keep intending on doing something and then never get to it because something else happens. There have been several trips to various stores to prepare ourselves for the storm. I have been doing load after load of laundry in preparation for a power outage. Oh, and cleaning, because somehow when there is no power for more then a few hours around here somehow the house seems to become an instant pigsty!

And, this morning, after a trip to the grocery store we headed out for a little outside fun...a trip to an old fashioned carousel and a miniature train.

Sorry for the extreme close-ups! This is how you take a picture of fun faces while also making sure they don't fall of the horse that is moving up and down, QUICKLY!

So, this was this weeks fun trip!

Now, the fun this weekend is betting on when the power will go out, how long it will last, and figuring out what to cook first before it spoils!

The upside...maybe I'll have a chance to cut a lot of fabric this weekend so when the power does come back on I can sew sew sew!

08/25/2011

I have grand plans. Ha ha, I should probably just stop right here, because I have grand plans for oh so many things, I get it from my mom ;) Grand plans for a basement renovation, for a secret play area for the kids upstairs in their closets, for a screened in porch, for a storefront...oh and the list goes on and on and on...

But, right now I am thinking about my grand plans of making one little tiny section of our backyard in to a children's garden. A place where the kids can go outside and play games, pick flowers, relax and imagine. I hope that maybe next year we might be able to start a bit of the actual doing for that. In the grandest of plans a little wooden playhouse like this would be in the garden, but then again I do think it would be a ton of fun to make a play tent like this someday soon! And then, I am reminded that children are so full of childish fun that they can make even the simplest of things fantastic. So, when this mama pulled out a giant box from the shed and started cutting and taping and when she handed out chalk and markers for decorating there were giggles and excitement galore! And, behold a playhouse!

(No, sorry, this is not a pottery barn kids promo...sorry)

This little house isn't even a week old yet and there have already been several moves into and out of it, flowers picked to decorate it, giants attacking it, a plumbing issue in which a plumber needed to be called and several earthquakes...one real and several others imagined!!! Maybe someday we will have a wooden house, maybe not. Maybe soon I will make a fabric tent, hopefully so. For now we have this cardboard house which is keeping us quite entertained, was free, and despite being made of cardboard, was strong enough to withstand the earthquake so I am fairly certain that it will keep the wolf away ;)

08/22/2011

We piled into the car early Saturday morning to head to the barn sale I mentioned on Friday. I love love love this place, there are so many cool things to find there! Usually we browse, pick up some things that we like, have them hold them behind the counter for us and then head outside to discuss what we really can't leave without and what we really shouldn't leave with, ha ha!

This is what we ended up with...

Brad saw this sign and loved it right away!! Often when we go to places like this I feel as though he is humoring me, much of the time he is ;), but this sign was perfect...he is "in TV" after all...so, I suggested this be his early anniversary gift. I usually like to be creative and come up with an idea that fits the traditional gift for that given year, but I have yet to come up with something to give that is bronze and I know that he loves this...nice to have the anniversary gift taken care of anyway.

Speaking of anniversary gifts...I also found something that I loved! These are my anniversary gift

I have actually been wanting some bullseye mirrors for a while now. My grandmother used to have a very ornate gold one right at the entrance of her home and I was always fascinated and a little bit weirded out by it! I saw these two mirrors and thought that their color scheme would fit perfectly with the fabric filled embroidery hoops we have above our bed!

These were my treats for keeping my space clean and neat for over a month

I thought these vintage blocks would be fun in the kid's rooms and the metal basket and ball jars are just some more organizing tools for me, you can't have too many of those.

Lastly, Violet picked out these two wall posters for her and Henry.

There, of course, were many things that we decided not to get, but we will forget about them and go back another time...One thing I am still fretting over a bit was a very cool old science table. It reminded me of all of the chemistry experiments I did in college and I'm still thinking about it because it could be a very nice table for crafting, cutting, and such, oh well, perhaps it will still be there the next time (on sale!).

Over the weekend I also finally finished a project! Another chicken. I love these chickens, but they take so long to make...

This little hen was made for a friend who just had her fifth baby! (Incidentally, she also lives on a chicken farm!) I hope to deliver it to her in person, we shall see...

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I'm Jane, thanks for stopping by! I hope you take your time and take a look around...If you do you'll our adventures in sewing, creating, crafting, gardening and exploring...it's what gets us through the day and fullfills us!
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